Commonwealth//McCann Santiago: Chevrolet promotes bike riding

March 12, 2019

Traffic congestion is a serious problem in Latin America. 80% of Latin America’s population is urban and that is estimated to rise to more than 90% by 2050. Car sales in Latin America skyrocketed by 14.6% in 2017 according to automobile consultancy, Jato.

Like many Latin American countries, Chile has a car free day. This year, Chevrolet got involved with the help of Commonwealth//McCann Santiago. It became The day Chevrolet supported another vehicle, the day Chevrolet launched a campaign to raise awareness about riding a bike instead, a campaign about responsible car use.

Chevrolet is the main sponsor of two of the most important soccer teams of Chile and Ecuador, Universidad de Chile and Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito. So the brand switched its original logo on the teams’ soccer t-shirts to let the soccer players wear the icon of a bike and encourage the public the habit of it as a means of transportation.

“In our purpose to help our clients’ brands to play a meaningful role in people´s life, we seek to provide creative ideas that cause an important impact in audiences of Chevrolet,” explained José Ignacio Solari, chief creative officer of McCann Santiago.

“Through campaigns like this, we motivate brand strategies with purpose, which generates a positive popular culture for the sustainability of all as a society.”

The initiative comes at a time when Chile is discussing enacting a vehicle sharing law and the responsible use of the car is being encouraged to ensure more environmentally sustainable city models. It was supported by #DíaMundialSinAuto (#InternationalCarFreeDay). The Chilean Government used the jersey to promote National Car Free Day. And it achieved +73% positive references, +25mm media impressions across the region, U$870,000 earned media.